The 28-year-old, Santi Cazorla has been out of action since the start of the month after injuring his ankle on international duty with Spain. Although Arsenal haven’t missed the playmaker due to the arrival of German Mesut Ozil on transfer deadline day in a club-record deal, Arsenal are without several first-team stars and recently lost Theo Walcott to a mysterious injury.
The Gunners recent resurgence after their opening day defeat has been nothing short of a revelation, and their supreme form has led them to the top of the standings in the Premier League. If they are to continue their rich vein of form, Cazorla could be key to their fortunes and last term’s Player of the Season for Arsenal is close to returning from an ankle injury.
According to Metro, Cazorla has targeted next week’s Champions League group stage encounter at home to Napoli as his return date from injury. The midfielder believes he could be fit to play a part against Serie A side Napoli, managed by former Liverpool and Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez.
He said, “I hope to be back shortly. Every day I’m feeling better and I’m working on all ways to reduce my downtime. It all depends on how I train and strengthen my ankle. As the days go by I am doing more things and if all goes well I will try to return for the game against Napoli, but that’s not certain.”
Arsenal can be considered as serious title contenders if they can replicate their away form on home soil. They have won ten consecutive matches in all competitions on the road, and they could finally end their trophy drought after really stepping up a gear this season.
However, Cazorla has remained grounded and believes it is still early doors in the race for the title. He said, “Hopefully we win the title, but it is too early to talk about it. The beginning is very good. After the first loss the team is performing at a good level.”
He added, “We are consistent, that is what we lacked last season. Furthermore, the incorporation of Mesut Ozil has given us a big leap in quality. Hopefully we can now become one of the great teams and that gives us the chance to fight for the title.”